Shenny Oneshots
by Jayden Whitehouse
Summary: A collection of oneshots all about Shenny, these will be updates sporadically now and hopefully soon there will be 31 different stories for you to enjoy.
1. Reacting to the other crying

**A Collection of Shenny Oneshots**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory, nor any recognisable characters or settings, the only thing I can lay claim to is the writing of these stories themselves.**

**Warnings: None in this chapter**

**Pairings: Sheldon and Penny**

**Word Count: 3,196**

**Hey guys, this cute little collection is going to be my go at a 31-day, non-sexual relationship actions one-shots, they may be taken as a collaboration or be read and interpreted as individual chapters with no connection with one another. I know I am starting on the 2nd but I will attempt to publish two chapters this evening. Please enjoy.**

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_Reacting to the Other One Crying_

Penny was bored.

She was bored of just sitting around while Leonard was off doing goodness knows what with goodness knows who on the North Sea. She sighs heavily as she flips to the next page of her magazine wishing that these thoughts; thoughts of Leonard cheating on her, of replacing her with a newer, hotter girl while she was stuck at home. No. Not even at home, she hadn't been back to her own apartment at all that day. Having been almost suffocating in her small apartment all on her own and so, despite her better judgement, she had ventured next door. To apartment 4A hoping to alleviate her boredom and loneliness through the company of her Wacker-doodle of a neighbour. Dr Sheldon Lee Cooper.

"Penny, did you ever wonder how Starfleet captains…"

"No."

She cut him off abruptly, not really caring if she came across as rude or uninterested because, truth of the matter was, she wasn't at all interested in what he was about to say about Starfleet captains at all. Turning to the next page of her magazine, Penny let out another deep sigh. The images not really making an impression in her mind as her eyes glaze over.

Wondering what Leonard was doing right at this moment, she readied her fingers to turn the next page when Sheldon's voice cuts through her thoughts once more and she had to fight not to roll her eyes at him.

"Well, now that I've piqued your interest, welcome to the exciting world of 3D chess."

For what felt like the 6th time, Penny sighed. She dropped her feet from their curled-up position under her body and turned to face the goofy mega nerd sitting in his spot adjacent to where she had curled herself up upon entering the apartment; in Leonard's armchair. She did roll her eyes then, closing her magazine sharply before she threw it onto the coffee table.

"Why don't you just admit that you only want to play this game because you always play it with Leonard, and you miss him?"

Sheldon shifted minutely in his seat, his left eyebrow twitching along with the corner of his mouth as he shook his head, as if disappointed in what Penny had to say.

"You overestimate his significance in my life."

"Mmmm."

Resting her chin in her hand, Penny balanced her arm on her knees and tried to give Sheldon her best 'I am not interested in anything you could possibly say' faces. Which, of course, went straight over the Scientist's head. For a genius he really is an idiot at times.

"Do I miss how he makes a face on my toaster waffle with syrup?"

Sheldon moved a white pawn across the chess board, his fingers fiddling with the piece before he placed it back down shaking his head.

"No."

Penny sighed dramatically, feeling put out by her boyfriend's roomate's need to talk excessively over the most obtuse things. Not knowing when to shut up and sit in silence, but she couldn't really blame him, he missed Leonard. Probably just as much, if not more, then she did.

"Do I miss the way he fixes the zipper on my jacket when it gets stuck?"

It didn't mean that she wanted to sit here listening to him complain and analyse evey last little thing anyone says or does. He moved another piece on the board.

"I don't think so."

She rolled her eyes, hoping that he would be done soon.

"Do I miss how we say good night to each other through the walls of our bedroom using Morse Code?"

Penny almost jumped out of her skin when Sheldon suddenly knocks the word 'no' out on the wooden coffee table and this time she did send the oblivious dork a glare. She had had enough of this.

"Okay, I get it. I get it. You are an emotionless robot."

Sheldon started, his eyes bugged wide as he turned to face the blonde waitress and she could have sworn that she saw a flicker of hurt shining in his cobalt blue eyes before it was gone the next second. He smiled smugly at her, preening slightly with her words.

"Well, I try."

Penny watched as Sheldon continued to fiddle with the chess pieces, moving them back and forth with a forlorn expression on his face. She hated to admit it, but his puppy dog eyes, and the slight downturn of his lips had always been to adorable and at times, impossible for her to ignore. She would despise herself for it later, but she found her resolve crumbling in seconds.

"All right, lets just get this stupid game over with."

She had never seen the older man's face light up so quickly in all her time knowing him and if she had been honest with herself, Penny would have admitted that the radiance had momentarily caused a small flame to flicker in the pit of her stomach. Shaking away the strange feeling Penny settled herself comfortably.

"Great. I'll go first."

"Okay"

Sheldon made his first move, before his fingers began to fiddle with each other. They twisted around one another, knotting themselves up as he shifted his gaze down to his lap where the knot of fingers was lying. His gaze shifted up to watch as Penny made her first move.

"By the way, how are you with zippers?"

Placing her black pawn down on the chess board, Penny eyed the Physicist suspiciously, knowing that she was going to regret asking as soon as the first syllable had left her mouth.

"Why?"

"Well, I really need to go to the bathroom, and this one has gone all cattywampus."

Sheldon answered, his nimble fingers tugging on the skewed zipper as if to prove his point, Penny simply raised her eyebrow at him and, not for the first time, wondered what she was still doing hanging around, willingly she may add, with her wacky neighbour.

It had been a while.

Penny stared at the 3D chess board her eyes glazed and her mouth hanging open slightly as she moved another one of her pieces, not really knowing how much time had passed since she had agreed to play with Sheldon.

"Ooh. Bad move."

"Really? Why?"

She knew that she could have acted a little more excited, she was an actress for goodness sake, but something about the game was numbing her mind. Though she had a feeling that if she ever used that phrase out loud then Sheldon would have a few choice words to say about how that would be scientifically impossible.

"My queen can now take your rook from below."

Sheldon explained, his voice not as condescending as she would have expected from him as he gestured to her piece and demonstrated the move with his own. He offered her a small, half fake half genuine smile before he turned to study the board once more. Missing the pale dust that covered Penny's cheeks.

"So that means I lose, right? It's over?"

Getting the blush under control, Penny inwardly berates herself because she is with Leonard, sweet, kind, caring, thoughtful Leonard. She was not developing a crush on Doctor Sheldon Lee Cooper, Phd and whatever other letters followed his name.

"If I make this move, but I won't because we're having too much fun."

Sheldon replaced his queen back into her original position, jumped in his seat like a small child and his smile this time, when directed at the waitress, shone brighter, a little more genuine. She could almost hear him thanking her for staying with him, for keeping him company; even though she knew he would never say that out loud.

"Okay, let's take a break."

Penny pushed herself up from the armchair, stretching out her sore muscles from being seated for so long and started to make her way towards the kitchen. The only thought running through her mind being how much she was in need of a drink or two.

"We're all out of alcohol."

Sheldon commented as soon as he notices her direction. She scoffed, turned around and stared at the blank look Sheldon gave her. Rolling her eyes Penny crossed her arms in front of her chest as she met his gaze.

"I wasn't going to get alcohol."

Her neighbour raised one of his eyebrows at her, giving him a look which she had guessed to say 'Penny I have known you for a long time and I know what you are like.' Letting out a loud sigh, Penny returns to her seat, throwing herself down into the cushion watching as a self-satisfied smirk had frown on Sheldon's lips.

"Gosh, I wonder what Leonard's doing right now. I miss him so much."

Penny sighed wistfully, her thoughts travelling back to her short, bespeckled boyfriend. She missed waking up next to him in the morning, loved how much he made her feel cared for and yet. Yet, she couldn't get rid of that impending doom feeling. She, for no reason whatsoever, had a bad feeling that Leonard, sweet Leonard, was cheating on her. Had found some hot chick to hook up with while he was at sea.

"Well, if you'd like, we could call him. I mean that you could call him. As I've explained, the absence of my friends does not cause me pain. As rock and roll bad boy, Paul Simon, once said, I am a rock, I am an i-i-i-island."

Sheldon stated nonchalant but Penny could see through him. Knew that he missed his friend and for that reason, she jumped up from her chair. Took her phone out of her back pocket and smiled brightly as the Theoretical physicist who was watching her every move closely. Anticipation deep in his eyes.

"I'm calling him."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, Sheldon jumped up from his spot and rushed to stand behind her, his face a picture of anticipation as she punched in Leonard's number.

"Oh, goodie, put him on speaker."

The dial tone rang. Once. Twice. Three times before the line connected. Static ran through the connection for a second before loud music began to beat through the phone startling both Penny and Sheldon as they stared down at the phone.

"North Sea, how can I help you?"

Leonard's voice rang through the microphone along with the high-pitched sound of a woman giggling close by and Penny felt her blood run cold, hoping that this wasn't what she had thought it was. Sheldon, Penny guessed that he had been too excited and distracted from hearing Leonard's voice placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Leonard?"

Penny called hesitantly, taking comfort in the solid form of Sheldon standing so close behind her as she too stared down at the device in her hand.

"Penny? Hey, it's Penny. Everyone say hi to Penny."

Sheldon and Penny flinched at the loud crackling that came over the phone as they could just make out 'everybody' calling a 'hi, Penny' back. Leonard cheered along with the other people on the North Sea expedition and Penny frowned even more at the phone.

"Wow, it sounds like you're having a good time."

She offered haltingly as she leant closer to Sheldon. She felt his hand squeeze her shoulder and that is when she had known that the germophobic scientist had touched her willingly, had known that she had been feeling uncomfortable at Leonard's voice. He had been trying to lend her strength from the beginning.

"Best time of my life!"

Sheldon frowned down at the phone, knowing that with the minute slurring of Leonard's words and the thudding music in the background that his roommate was most likely drunk, he knew that his actions were upsetting Penny as he hadn't even stated that he had missed her. He leant forward to catch a glimpse of Penny's face and sure enough, the bright smile that she had been showing at the prospect of phoning Leonard had shattered.

"Oh, Lenny?"

A female voice, sounded equally as intoxicated as Leonard, sounded through the speaker. Sheldon squeezed Penny's shoulder again when he had heard her take a sharp inhalation. A clear sign that she was either shocked; about to shout or very upset.

"Lenny, come back here. I am not through with you yet."

Penny chocked on the breath she had been exhaling. Her shoulder began to shake slightly when they heard Leonard laugh breathlessly and the woman respond by giggling. There were wet sounds coming down the speaker next and Penny, with all her experience, knew that Leonard was cheating on her. Even Sheldon could easily decipher what those foreign noises had been by the tight set of Penny's body, and the wetness he had caught gleaming in her green eyes.

"Well, we can tell that you are busy. I'll leave you to it, bye Leonard."

Penny hung up her phone not giving Leonard a chance to respond, though if Sheldon were to guess he would have said that his roommate would have been too preoccupied to respond anyways. He glanced at his female neighbour and instantly felt himself freeze at the sigh Penny had tears streaming down her cheeks, her fists clenched tightly around the mobile phone still clutched in her hands.

He stared down at her for a moment before he guided the distraught female to the sofa, not paying much heed when he had seated her in his spot and handed her a box of tissues, he always kept on the coffee table. Patting her gently on the shoulder, he had made his way into the kitchen silently and put the kettle on the stove to heat up.

The apartment was silent for a while, the only sounds to be heard were Penny's occasional sniffle and the high-pitched wheezing of the kettle when it had finished boiling. Pouring two cups of camomile tea, Sheldon made his way back to his upset friend and placed the tea into her quivering hands.

"There, there, Penny."

Despite her sadness, Penny couldn't help but chuckle at little at Sheldon's actions as he patted her shoulder, seating himself on the arm of the sofa beside her. She threw caution to the wind when she leant into his side, resting her head close to his chest and snuggled into his warmth. She felt him freeze and feared that he was going to push her away when he did something, she hadn't even thought possible. Especially when it came to Sheldon. He, after a moment, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her more firmly into his side, his fingers had stroked through her hair once before they brushed down her arm and rested there.

"There, there. Sheldon's here."

"I can't believe I missed that jerk!"

She cried out, her tears had started afresh and without a thought she cuddled herself closer to Sheldon, burying her face into his side as his fingers continued to brush gentle up and down her upper arm.

"I am sorry, Penny."

She took in a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes with the tissue now scrunched up in her hand before she released a sigh.

"I can't believe I was so stupid. No matter who I date they always turn out to be the same backstabbing, cheating jackasses, even the sweet ones. I really thought Leonard was different from all the other guys I had dated."

"You are not stupid, Penelope. You are one of the smartest people I know when it comes to social conventions and, as the kids say, street smarts. You may not have a PhD or doctorate like myself and Leonard, but you are smarter than both of us when it comes to interacting with people and what to do in different situations. I know I have had to ask for your assistance on more than one occasion, Penny."

"Thank you, Sweetie. I think that is the nicest thing you have ever said to me. But come on, there has to be something wrong with me. Why does every guy I date turn out to be a jerk? Can't I just, for once, date a guy who is smart, kind, attentive but also challenges me? Can't I have someone who doesn't see me as just sex on legs?"

Penny began to cry again. Sheldon passed her another tissue and continued to hold her. Despite the action being foreign to himself and a little out of his comfort zone, for some reason or another, he couldn't quiet fathom, he wanted to hold Penny close. He wanted to comfort her and make her feel better.

"Penny. There is nothing wrong with you. You are a kind, friendly, hard working woman. You are both aesthetically pleasing and a wonderful friend and for those of them who cannot see all of that is not worth your time. You deserve to be happy Penelope and I know some day that you will find the man who is going to worship you and not just as, as you so eloquently put it, 'sex on legs'."

She wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath. Penny pulled away from Sheldon's warmth reluctantly, enough so that she could look into his eyes and offered him a bright smile, only dampened slightly by the tear stains on her cheeks. She threw her arms around Sheldon's waist and held on tightly. She had felt Sheldon freeze again momentarily before he had wrapped his arms around her shoulders slowly, unsure about the physical contact. She sighed into his chest.

"Thank you, Sweetie. I don't know what I would do without you."

Before Sheldon had chance to respond, Penny had jumped up and placed a soft kiss to his cheek before she had spun around and headed for the front door. As she had been about to cross the threshold of his apartment and head to her own, Penny had turn around.

"Hey, Sheldon?"

He watched her patiently, waiting for hr to continue.

"Yes, Penny?"

"Would you, maybe, wanna come round to mine after my shift tomorrow? We can watch Star Wars and I'll make Spaghetti with little cut up hot dogs?"

Sheldon relaxed his shoulders at the invitation and smiled at the waitress.

"I would love to, Penny. I will see you tomorrow evening."

"See you tomorrow, Moonpie."

With that, Penny had skipped out of the apartment. She giggled when she heard Sheldon's 'only Meemaw calls me Moonpie' just as the door clicked shut.


	2. Watching a movie

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory, nor any recognisable characters or settings, the only thing I can lay claim to is the writing of these stories themselves.**

**Warnings: None in this chapter**

**Pairings: Sheldon and Penny**

**Word Count: 1,476**

**A/N Hey guys, so day 2 of my Shenny challenge and I am enjoying this maybe a little bit too much. I never thought it would be such a challenge (I know right?) for me to be confined to a day per chapter but, if any of you have read some of my other stories then you will know that my chapters, especially those from the more recent stories, are usually never shorter that 5000 words each... Hope you guys enjoy reading these!**

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_Watching a movie_

Penny had had a long day's shift at the Cheesecake Factory. Her boss had been a right bastard, complaining about every little thing she had done wrong, or right as it were. Her tables and customers had mainly been sleaze ball jocks who were way too handsy as she waited their tables, took their orders and bought them their refills. She was disgusted by how one of them had thought it okay to slap her ass as she walked away.

Unlocking her apartment, Penny released a deep sigh as she looked around her apartment, she had spent some time yesterday evening, after she had returned home after the distarouds phone call with her now ex-boyfriend. She had needed to do something to keep her mind of the cheating bastard and had chosen to give her living room and kitchen a quick tidy up. Especially since she knew Sheldon was going to be stopping by this very evening.

She dropped the bag of groceries she had purchased for their meal tonight and quickly went to take a shower. She smelt like cheesecake and sweat. Getting changed into a comfortable pair of grey sweatpants and a plain pink tank top, she set about finding her copy of Star Wars. Something she had purchased after Sheldon and the guys had made her watch it the first time and despite their thoughts; she had found herself enjoying it far more than she would care to admit. So much so that she had decided to purchase the entire collection, as well as Star Trek and Doctor Who. She was turning into a nerd, just like her neighbours.

Setting the DVD on top the coffee table, Penny made her way into the kitchen to start the preparations for dinner knowing that Sheldon knew her shifts at the cheesecake factory and therefore knew when she was due home. Oddly, she found herself not minding that one bit, it actually made her feel safe because she knew that if something were to happen and she didn't arrive home on time then Sheldon would know instantly.

She was halfway through cutting up the little hot dogd as the pasta simmered on the stove when a knock came on her front door bring a smile to her face.

*knock knock knock*

"Penny."

She wiped her hands on a clean tea-towel to make sure they were clean before she turned to the door, listening out for the next sequence.

*Knock knock knock*

"Penny."

"I'm coming, Sheldon."

She called as she proceeds to walk towards the door, giving the man on the other side ample time to finish his OCD enforced knocking sequence on her door. She stands just on the other side, hand poised on the handle when it comes.

*Knock knock knock*

"Penny."

As soon as he had finished, Penny opens the door wide. A large, bright smile on her face when she sees him standing there, arms held behind his back as he rocks slightly on his heels. He offers her a small smile of his own before she gestures for him to enter and he does so with a nod of his head in thanks. Glancing around the room, Sheldon's smile grows as he turns to face his friend.

"Penny, I am please to see you are using the organisational chart I suggested to you. Your apartment looks much better now."

The waitress beams at him as she makes her way back to the kitchen to finish cutting up the hot dogs so she can add them into the tomato sauce which she adds to the stove just as the pasta is finishing up. She glances back around while everything is heating through and smile when she sees Sheldon sitting in, what he deemed, his seat in her apartment. His eyes wide with delight as he studies her own collection of Star Wars: extended edition.

"Penny, I was not aware of your heightened interest in Star Wars and the extended editions?"

He questions and Penny can feel a light blush dusting her cheeks as she giggles. Turning back to the stove she begins to dish up their servings as she answers.

"Ummm. Well, I really enjoyed watching them with you guys and I had a little money to spare last month and I saw them in the shop and had to buy them. I know I could have asked Leonard to borrow his if I wanted to watch them again, but I wanted my own copy and… yea."

"I see. Well, I am please to see you finally recognising the marvellous creation that is Star Wars and I very much look forward to watching them with you."

Sheldon responds happily, carefully looking at each movie case in turn, studying the quality of the packaging before he turns to face Penny once more as she places his plate of food on the coffee table in front of him.

"So, Sheldon. Do you want to watch them in Chronological order of when they were produced or how the events transpire in the plot?"

She questions and for a moment Sheldon doesn't answer. He simply stares at the girl sitting on the sofa adjacent to himself in awe, wondering when she had become that smart or when she had started to use such vocabulary.

"I believe, Penny. That we should watch them in order of when the event proceed in the originally plot line of the movies."

"Sounds good, Moonpie."

Penny giggles at Sheldon's half meant glare and leans forward to pick up Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Quickly slotting the disk into the player, Penny sits back to dig into her food, shifting only slightly when Sheldon abandon's his chair to perch on the cushion beside her.

The theme tune begins, and Penny and Sheldon settle down to watch the movie, silence reigning supreme over the apartment, besides the sounds of cutlery hitting crockery as they eat their meals completely engrossed in the film.

When the screen goes black, Penny is curled up against the arm of her sofa her empty plate abandoned next to Sheldon's on the coffee table while her neighbour is seated on the edge of his seat, looking as if he had just discovered something new in String Theory. Penny sighs happily, stretching her arms above her head, she leans forward to extract the disk from the DVD player and places it carefully back into its case. When she then proceeds to place it, along with the rest of the series, back on her DVD shelf for safe keeping.

As she turns back around, she sees Sheldon walking into her kitchen with their empty dishes in his hands, a determined look on his face that she knows all too well.

"Sheldon, Sweetie. You don't need to wash up for me."

He doesn't turn around when she addresses him, merely continues to his way to the sink putting on a pair of yellow washing up gloves before he begins to fill her sink with warm soapy water.

"On the contrary, Penny, I do. You have invited me into your home on one of your rare evenings off and despite the emotional turmoil you are supposed to be suffering from due to the discover we made about Leonard yesterday evening, you still offered to cook me one of my favourite meals and we watched Star Wars: the Phantom Menace together. It is the least I can do for you."

Sheldon states it all as if it were some unarguable scientific fact and Penny knows that she isn't going to win this one no matter how hard she tries. So she grabs her clean tea-towel from off the kitchen counter and stands beside he wacky neighbour offering him a bright smile when he turns to glance down at her.

"Well then, when you put it like that, how can I argue."

"Very easily I would have thought. Seen as you are more than perfectly capable of…"

Penny smiles, rolling her eyes in fond exasperation as she places a hand on Sheldon's arm to cut him off."

"Let me at least dry the dishes."

Sheldon studies Penny for a moment before he concedes and nods his head. They set about their task of washing a drying every plate, bowl, utensil and pot which needs cleaning in companionable silence. Penny finds herself enjoying this time she is spending with Sheldon, surprisingly not finding his usually antics of systematically explaining every little thing to her, though she notices a certain lack of condescending tones nowadays, frustrating or offensive. Now she cherishes the time she can spend with just the two of them, no Howard or Raj or Leonard to interfere and get in their way.

She smiles at Sheldon when he passes her another plate and that same spark which ignited the previous night reawakens.


	3. Reading a Book Together

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory, nor any recognisable characters or settings, the only thing I can lay claim to is the writing of these stories themselves.**

**Warnings: None in this chapter**

**Pairings: Sheldon and Penny**

**Word Count: 1,593**

**A/N Alright guys this is day 3 of my non-sexual relationship actions and I have to say that even though these chapters are much shorter than what I am used to writing (and I mean mega shorter than my other stories) I am enjoying them immensely. It is interesting for me to try and cut down how much I write in a chapter. Normally it would take me days, sometimes an entire week, to write up a chapter but this is giving me a time limit. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I hope to get the next one up tomorrow evening!**

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_Reading a book together_

He couldn't fathom why he was here; why he had agreed to do this. He couldn't even make sense of how he had been tricked into doing something like this again. Penny just simply wasn't the best at grasping the most basic of sciences him and the guys use to talk about; so he wasn't sure why Penny had asked him of all people to teach her more about the solar system and the planets and stars. Yet, here he stood. A black marker in his hand as he tried once more to explain the solar system and the planets in it to the waitress.

"So, the Earth isn't the closest planet to the sun?"

Sheldon rolls his eyes, a habit he had picked up only recently due to the extortionate amount of time he had been hanging out with his blonde neighbour these past couple of days. Penny just smiles at his sheepishly and the expression helps to stave of his own mounting frustration, knowing that she wasn't doing this just to 'push his buttons' as the popular phrase goes.

"No Penny. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It has, compared to that of the other planets, a very elliptical orbit and can range from between 46 million kilometres to 69.8 million kilometres at various times during its orbit. Whereas the Earth is at an average of 149.6 million kilometres and takes exactly 1 sidereal year to complete a full circuit."

Sheldon sighs softly at the blank look Penny is directing towards him, her eyebrows furrowing, showing her confusion at his technical and highly scientific explanation. Yet, he doesn't feel as irritated as he would have been if it were Howard or Leonard, he had been attempting to explain these things to.

"I'm sorry, Sheldon. Here you are wasting your free time trying to teach me all this and I just cant seem to remember that Mercury and Venus have no moons in orbit or that Uranus is mainly made up of ice compared to Jupiter and Saturn which are predominantly made up of hydrogen and helium."

Penny sighs this time, dragging a hang through her already mussed hair. Something she had taken to doing frequently during their mini lesson. Sheldon doesn't respond at first, his blue eyes are blown wide as he stares down at the despondent waitress perched in his seat on the sofa. His brain trying to process all that she had just said.

"Penny…"

The blonde looks up slowly, her dejected expression quickly changing to that of awed surprise once her words have processed through her own mind. A bright smile spreads across her lips as her eyes widen, much like her neighbours, and she jumps up excitedly. Clapping her hands in front of her chest, Penny laughs joyfully and without thought, throws herself at Sheldon. Not really caring much when she feels him tensing up under her embrace. A moment passes before Sheldon reaches his own arms around slowly wrapping one around her back while the other pats her shoulder blade delicately.

"Oh my gosh! Sheldon, you are brilliant! Thank you so much!"

"There, there, Penny. I am very proud of you."

Pulling back at his comment, Penny can feel her smile shrinking, not out of disappointment but into a soft, almost affectionate, smile to which her quirky scientist responds with a matching expression of his own. Retracting her arms slowly, Penny chuckles lightly.

"Are you really?"

"Of course, I am Penny. You have managed to grasp some aspects of what I have been trying to teach you. You have done well."

Penny hugs him once more, pleased when she senses less hesitation in Sheldon's return than he had had previously. Progress in her eyes. She gives him one more tight squeeze before pulling back completely. She retreats back to the sofa, sliding into 'her spot' in the middle of the coach and gestures for Sheldon to sit down next to her.

He does so with little hesitation, only casting a confused glance at his whiteboard as he shuffles closer to the blonde, allowing himself to settle comfortably into his spot. Sheldon turns his attention to his friend waiting for her to speak.

"Sheldon?"

"Yes, Penny?"

The blonde waitress shifts in her seat, dropping her notebook onto the coffee table before meeting Sheldon's gaze. Her eyes staring into his, never having noticed before how blue his eyes really were and how pretty they were. She inwardly shakes her head before taking a deep breath.

"I don't wanna continue this lesson right now. How about we take a break."

"Alrighty."

Sheldon obliges instantly, knowing that no matter what he thought or said on the matter, Penny had already made up her mind to take a break, most likely for the rest of the day, from their lesson on space. He glances around his living room for something that the two of them could do; his gaze lands on a comic book that he had left out on the side table. Something he had taken out that morning on a whim.

Penny is surprised that her wacky neighbour had agreed with her so quickly, but she isn't at all surprised when she watches as he reaches across the arm of the sofa to pick up a comic book which he must have been reading earlier. She rolls her eyes when he opens the small book to what appeared to be the front page as he settles back into his seat making himself comfortable once more. Though, what does shock her is when Sheldon's soothing voice, a slight hint of his Texan drawl coming through as he begins to read the comic strip out loud.

Deciding not to make a comment on this strange turn of events, Penny sighs happily, never wanting to admit out loud that she loved the sound of Sheldon's voice even when he was belittling either her or his other friends. It always seemed to have an instant calming effect on her body, making her almost lethargic. She rests her head back against the top of the sofa and closes her eyes, letting Sheldon's voice wash over her.

Sheldon pauses in his reading for a second, his eyes flickering over Penny's still form and he smiles at how serene she looks; how peaceful and angelic she appears when she is relaxed completely and, in his presence, no less. He turns his eyes back to the page he is reading and continues where he left off.

The pair continue on in this fashion for the next 15 minutes before Penny shuffles closer to the scientist, resting her head gently on his shoulder. She giggles softly when she feels him stiffening up under her action, his head turning a few degrees in order to glance down at her, though her position doesn't grant him a full look at her face.

"Penny. What are you doing? You are invading my personal response and I can tell you that I am no longer comfortable with your close proximity…"

Giggling again, Penny snuggles closer to Sheldon's warmth and breaths deeply, taking in the familiar scent that is simply Sheldon. She brings her feet up from the floor, kicking her shoes off before curling her legs up under her body so that she is leaning more steadily against Sheldon's side. She feels him relaxing slowly, his muscles twitching every now and again as he shifts in his seat.

"I just wanted to see the pictures, Moonpie."

"Penny. You are perfectly capable of looking at the images from your own seat, there is no need for you to invade my personal proximity."

"There is every need, Sweetie. You are comfy."

Sheldon pauses to consider her statement, not understanding how his shoulder; a joint composed of solid bone, little ligaments, thin layers of skin and barely any muscle could be considered comfortable to anyone. He glances down at Penny and has to agree that she does look relatively comfortable against his side. Her weight feeling almost right pressed against his side. Sheldon sighs in resignation, leaning back into the back of the coach before he carefully lifts his right arm up, placing the appendix around the woman's shoulder, tugging her closer to his chest.

He feels her inhale sharply at his action and one of her arms as it snakes around his back, her delicate fingers clutching at the material of his shirt on his left hip.

"Sheldon?"

Penny's voice is barely above a whisper and Sheldon can hear the confusion lacing her tone.

"This position will not only allow for me to continue reading the comic to you but it will not results in a crick in the neck for you nor a tingling feeling in my arm due to a loss of correct blood circulation commonly known as 'pins and needles'."

Accepting his answer, Penny snuggles comfortable against Sheldon's chest surprised by how firm the muscles feel and how steady his heartbeat is beating in her ear. She sighs contently and relaxes back into her neighbour's embrace as his Texan lilted tone fills the room once more. She finds herself enjoying the story far more than she could have possible predicted.

Or maybe it was all down to present company.


	4. Falling Asleep on the Other's Lap

A Collection of Shenny Oneshots

Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory, nor any recognisable characters or settings, the only thing I can lay claim to is the writing of these stories themselves.

Warnings: None in this chapter

Pairings: Sheldon and Penny

Word Count: 3,082

_Falling asleep With Their Head on the Other's Lap_

Penny had had an exhausting day at the Cheesecake factory that day, having been called in to work the full day shift because Mandy had called in sick, yet again and so, that is why the blonde waitress found herself climbing the stairs to her apartment after a 13 hour shift. Her feet ached something terribly, her hair was a messy with her bangs sticking to her forehead with sweat, her arms were sore from carrying the sheer number of trays around and she most likely stank. She needed a long soothing hot bath, a glass of wine and time to herself to watch the cheesiest, cliché romance movie she owned.

As her feet hit the top landing of the fourth floor the door to her left, apartment 4A, opened to reveal her lanky, sandy-haired neighbour. She watched as he pulled the door fully closed behind himself before he jumped in surprise once he noticed her presence, though he quickly righted and composed himself.

"Ah, Penny. Just the person I was coming to see."

He exclaims happily, his hands clasping together behind his back and he rocked slightly back and forth as he gazed down at her. Penny lifted a hand up to rub her tired eyes and stared up at the man sleepily, her sight blurring ever so slightly as she swayed on her feet. Sheldon's eyes widen a fraction as he lifts a hand to steady her, his arm a familiar warm pressure on her upper arm and she relishes in the feeling.

"Hey Sweetie, what's up?"

He continues to gaze down at her, his blue eyes shining in concern as he studies her face, rather much like he would a particularly puzzling scientific equation on his whiteboards. His gaze takes in her paler than usual skin; the bags under her eyes; the rapid succession of her eyes blinking and her slightly shallow breathing.

"Penny, you are exhausted."

He states factually, his grip never wavering on her arm. In fact he seems to pull her closer into his side as if to support her weight himself and act as a human crutch for his friend.

"Am I? I hadn't noticed."

Penny rolls her eyes at his comment, slumping down against his side as she allows for her exhaustion to overcome her.

"I hardly think now is a prudent time for your sarcasm, Penny. You need to rest."

Sheldon wraps an arm around Penny's waist as he begins to direct her across the hall to her own apartment, he takes her spare key out of his pocket and unlocks the door. Allowing for her to cross the threshold first, he leads her to the sofa and sits her down before heading into the kitchen to fix her up a mug of warm milk to aid in her falling asleep. Penny collapses onto her couch, leaning her head back to rest against the back of the sofa, tilting her head at an angle which allows her to still watch Sheldon as he makes his way around her kitchen as if it were his own. She watches him pour the milk into a saucepan, add a small amount of honey and wait as it slowly begins to boil. He pours the concoction into two mugs and makes his way back over to her slumped form.

"Here you are, Penny. I have added more honey to aid with your sleep."

She takes the offered mug and takes a small sip, sighing as the warm liquid slides down her throat before settling into her stomach. Sheldon watches as the muscles in her throat contract as she swallows and can feel his mouth drying up a little, he takes a sip of his own drink as he averts his eyes.

"Thank you Sheldon, this is delicious."

The pair lapse into a comfortable silence, both lost in their own thoughts as they stare absently around the room sipping away at their drinks. Penny is the first to break the silence with a loud sigh as she shuffles slightly in her seat; placing her no empty mug onto her coffee table. Sheldon stiffens when he feels a weight settle down on his lap, glancing down he spies a head of blonde hair now occupying the space atop his thighs.

"Penny, what are you doing?"

"Getting comfortable. You said that you were looking for me, so that means that you must have wanted to talk to me about something. You are gonna tell me what that is."

She states firmly, letting Sheldon know that he really had no choice in the matter. He shrugs his shoulders and settles his hand along Penny's shoulder, brushing along the smooth skin before her stills them; while his other still holds his mug of milk. Penny releases a content murmur as she snuggles further into his lap.

"Alrighty. Penny I was in search of you because I had a question for you."

He pauses waiting for some form of acknowledgement from the blonde waitress, not really understanding why she is insisting on them talking about this now when even he could tell how tired she was. He continues when she makes a small noise in the back of her throat.

"Well, I have found that… when I am around a particular person, I feel averse to the vicinity around me and I am unsure as to why. It is a most unusual occurrence due to it only happening around this one person and I do not know what to do."

Sheldon looks back down to his only true female friend and absently runs his hand through the loose curls of her hair, brushing them back from her forehead as he awaits her answer.

"Sheldon, you are gonna have to give me a little more than that, sweetie."

"Alright. When I am with this person my extremities heat up, my heart rate increases, I lose focus of everything but them and I find myself wanting to make them comfortable and happy even if it causes a disruption to my schedule."

Averting his gaze from Penny when she shuffles around so that she is looking directly up into his face, her green eyes taking in his shy expression. She notices the thinning of his lips; the way his eyes dart around the room and how his fingers tighten slightly in her hair. Her eyes widen slightly when she sees the pale blush dusting across his cheeks and realisation dawns when she finally catches on to what Sheldon is saying. Dr Sheldon Lee Cooper, Homonovus and all around Asexual non-male male; has a crush and not just a simple crush either.

"Well Sweetie, how does this make you feel?"

Sheldon stays quiet for a moment and Penny is in danger of drifting off before his smooth Texan drawl break through the fog, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I want to hold her, and I don't feel disgusted by the germs because it is her. I want to hold her hand and touch her and kiss her, but I am unsure of what to do with this information."

Contemplating her answer, Penny continues to watch the varying expression dancing across the others face and can't help but feel a little jealous of this mysterious woman who had managed to capture her wackadoodles heart so obviously. She feels a pit of despair begin to form in the bottom of her stomach but quickly pushes the feeling away.

"Oh sweetie, that is amazing. She sounds like a lucky girl, what do you want to happen between the two of you?"

She tries to be carefully, trying not to push him too much lest she scare him away and make him clam up. Sheldon, however, turns his gaze to look down into her eyes and, despite her losing battle with sleep she is taken away by the slightly glazed look of love shining in his blue eyes and wishes beyond hope that he would look at her like that.

"I would like to ask her to be my girlfriend, but I don't know if she feels the same for me or what I should even do. I am not very good with my emotions Penny, but I would like to leave no room for misunderstanding."

"I am sure this girl will love anyway you decide to confess to her and if you speak from the heart and tell her exactly how you are feeling then I am sure she won't misunderstand you, Sweetie."

"Oh good."

Sheldon falls silent, his hand still absently brushing through her hair as he appears to contemplate her response. She settles back down into his lap and cuddles back against his hand feeling sleep creeping up on her as she basks in the warmth surrounding her and the security of having Sheldon right next to her. She means to push herself of his lap to make her way to her bedroom in order to sleep and allow him to go back to his own apartment but she is too lethargic, much too tired to even contemplate moving at this given time and so she allows sleep to envelop her.


	5. Stargazing

**A Collection of Shenny Oneshots**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory, nor any recognisable characters or settings, the only thing I can lay claim to is the writing of these stories themselves.**

**Warnings: None in this chapter**

**Pairings: Sheldon and Penny**

**Word Count: 2,595**

**A/N Hey guys, I apologise for the late submission of this chapter, however, I can promise that I will get days 6 and 7 up by tomorrow evening. It is currently half 12 in the morning here so I will leave you with day 5 for now. I hope you continue to read these oneshots and I will get the rest posted as soon as possible!**

* * *

_Stargazing_

Penny was proud of herself. More so than she had ever felt before. She had managed to recall some of the facts that Sheldon had taught her about the solar system and the planets, though when she was going to use that information and why she had asked Sheldon to teach her about that particular topic still eludes her.

Sheldon had, for lack of a better phase, decided to sporadically test her recollection by slotting in seemingly random questions about space and 'topics she should have learnt about in grade school' his own words; much to the confusion of their friends. Surprisingly, she had gotten most of the correct and her wackadoodle of a next-door neighbour had even complimented her. Something which spark a warmth in her chest.

It had been a typical Wednesday, Penny had dropped Sheldon off at the comic bookstore after the guys had left without him, yet again, for reasons they refused to share with the blonde waitress. She then decided to stay over and watch as the boys engaged each other in a rather intense game of Halo, with Sheldon's team (Leonard) coming out on top. She cannot divulge what actually happened during their multiple matches and battles as she had found her eyes being drawn, against her will, to the skilful way Sheldon's fingers maned the controls. They moved with a fluidity which sparked her loins in awakening, something she was deeply embarrassed and shocked about.

Like she thought a typical Wednesday evening, well with all the seemingly random trivia questions posed by Sheldon, that is. Until he had paused the game mid battle, extracting various shouts of disbelief and rage from his fellow nerds. Turning to face his only female friend, Sheldon clears his throat and speaks slowly, the corner of his mouth twitching with nerves.

"Penny."

She pulls her thoughts away from his long, slim fingers to gaze into his intense blue eyes, a slight flush rushing through her veins.

"Yes, Sweetie."

"The Leonid meteor shower is tomorrow."

She raises her eyesborw in question, wondering why he was bringing this up with her of all people in the middle of Halo night.

"The what?"

"The Leonids. Otherwise known as Leo, named after their radiance in the constellation, Leo. It is a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle. They grace our skies every 33 years at this time, an event caused due to the Earth moving through the meteoroids stream of particles emitted from passages of previous comets. Normally comprised of solid particles ejected by said comet as frozen gases evaporate under the heat of the sun – "

"As fascinating as that sounds, Sweetie. Why are you telling me this?"

Sheldon freezes, his body going tense depicting to his rising nerves as he turns fully in his seat to look at Penny, his own eyebrows raising in a look to say 'are you evening listening to me?' She rolls her eyes in response patiently waiting for him to answer her.

"Well, Penny. Due to your rising interesting in the planets, the solar system and stars and also deducing from your previous mentions of participating in the mass cultural delusion that the sun's apparent position relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality. I assumed you would be interested in viewing this rare scientific phenomenon."

The room is silent after Sheldon's rather lengthy explanation. The boys' mouths hang open in disbelief at the words coming form their friend, a man they regard as a robot, with no inclination towards other peoples likes, dislikes and interests.

"Are you asking me to watch the Leonid meteor shower with you Sheldon?"

Penny asks slowly, not quite believing if she had understood his words correctly, even if she does admit to getting better at translating his 'sheldoness' into simpler words.

"That is what I said."

The silence continues as Leonard, Howard and Rajesh continue to stare at Sheldon, whose face is blank and emotionless, his gaze fixated on Penny who smiles brightly at the taller man, she leans forward to give him a quick hug, mindful of his aversion to physical contact. Though she is surprised to not feel him tense up or move away.

"Awww, Sweetie. I would love to."

"Good."

And with that said, Sheldon turns his attention back to the game, the sounds of firearms being emptied and reloaded, along with buildings exploding filling the room once more. Penny can't help but sigh happily leaning over slowly in order to gently rest her head against Sheldon's shoulder, snuggling in closer when he doesn't scold her or tell her to move.

Anything-can-happen-Thursday.

A day which used to be, and still is most of the time, the bane of Dr Sheldon Lee Cooper's existence, a disturbance in his rigidly planned weekly schedule. A day only allowed once every month usually to allow Leonard, Howard and Raj a chance to 'hit the town' and pick up inebriated, vulnerable women who were willing to sleep with almost anyone in that state. He had hated it. The consistent timing of everything in his life including when he went to the bathroom being thrown due to his friend's desperation to perform coitus with random women.

However, this month, he was a willing participant in Anything-can-happen-Thursdays, as tonight he had made plans to go up to the roof and watch the Leonid meteor shower with Penny. Acting on the advice he had given her the other night, he was going to act on his feelings and speak from the heart, as Penny had phrased it.

His hands are sweating profusely as he makes his way across the hallway to stand outside her apartment door, he takes a deep calming breath before raising his left hand to carry out his sequenced knocking.

*Knock knock knock*

"Penny."

*Knock knock knock*

"Penny."

*Knock knock knock*

"Penny."

As soon as he had finished the door of apartment 4B opened to reveal his blonde neighbour, a large smile stretching across her face as she spies his form standing in her doorway.

"Hey, Sweetie."

"Hello Penny."

He returns cordially. Nodding his head in greeting, he takes a couple of steps back when Penny steps out of her apartment, locking the door behind herself before she turns back to face him. Taking in his apparel as she does and coming to a pause when she sees a wicker picnic basket hanging from his fingers. She raises an eyebrow at him aa she gestures to the basket.

"It is Anything-can-happen-Thursday, Penny. I thought we could enjoy a small picnic while we watch the shower this evening, if you are not adverse to the idea."

She shakes her head, giggling at him.

"No Sheldon, I am not averse to having a picnic with you."

"Oh good. Shall we proceed."

Sheldon smiles down at her gesturing for her to take the lead up the stairs and to the roof, which she does with a bright smile of her own. She climbs the stairs hastily and the scientist cannot help but roll his eyes at her obvious excitement, whether it is completely due to the anticipation of witnessing such a cosmic rarity or some other reason.

Upon arriving on the roof, Sheldon immediately unfolds the tartan blanket he had folded up on top of the basket and places it on the floor for the two of them to sit down on and if he seats himself a little closer to Penny than he usually would she doesn't comment. Beginning to take out the different finger foods he had placed inside the wicker basket, Penny can feel her eyes widen at the spread. She spies sandwiches, small tarts, a bowl of salad and other delicacies.

"Wow, Sheldon this all looks amazing."

"Thank you, Penny. I am glad that I managed to get it all baked in time for the Shower this evening."

Penny sat frozen for a split second, her brain taking its time to process the information he had just offered her.

"Wait. You made all of this?"

"I have just said that, Penny."

"I didn't know you could cook."

Sheldon inclines his head once, leaning back on his arms as he tilts his head up to the sky, his eyes bright reflecting the light from the moon.

"My mother thought is prudent for a gentleman to know how to cook."

"Well, you did good, Moonpie."

Sheldon glances down at the blonde waitress only to find her mouth filled with pastry, he eyes closed shut in what he assumed to be pleasure at the taste. His tongue darts out to wet his suddenly dry lips as he watches transfixed as he throat constricts as she swallows.

"Only Meemaw can call me Moonpie."

He responds with the only thing his brain could think of as he continues to watch her covertly out the corner of his eye. He watches as her eyes slowly slide open, her head tilting back as she, like himself, turns her focus to the night sky, just in time to see the first bright light shooting across the sky.

"Oh wow."

His heart speeds up at her breathless whisper and his eyes flicker back to study her face, the features a perfect rendition of child-like wonder and awe.

"It is so beautiful."

He nods along with her thoughts, watching as light after light shoots across the sky, a cosmic stream of combustible matter flashing through the atmosphere thousand of kilometres above their heads and yet he sees nothing more beautiful than the mesmerised woman by his side.

"Thank you for inviting me to join you Sweetie, this is fascinating."

"I am glad you like it, Penny."

The two descend into silence as they continue to watch the streams of light dancing and racing across the night sky, occasionally releasing sharp gasps and noises of amazement as they pick their way through the food laid out before them. Every now and again, Sheldon found his eyes being drawn to Penny by an outward force, his blue eyes trailing her body, her face so expressive, muscles relaxed completely as she stares up at the light show. He takes a deep breath, trying to build up the courage to get out what he needed to.

"Penny?"

Penny hums quietly to show that she is listening, her attention still locked on the meteor shower and yet, Sheldon remains silent, not wishing to talk to the women if she isn't paying attention to him. He wants to make sure that she can see his sincerity. Know that what he is about to say is the truth.

"Penny?"

Turning her gaze to study the man next to herself catching the slight quivering in his tone signifying to his rising nerves. Turning her full attention towards the scientist, Penny smiles gently trying to calm him down enough so he can tell her what he wants to.

"What is it, Sweetie?"

He takes a deep breath, the skin at his eyebrow twitching a little as he meets her gaze, determination shining deep in his eyes.

"Do you remember what you told me two days ago?"

"About what?"

"You told me that in order to get my feelings across to the woman I am infatuated with I must talk from my heart."

"Oh, right."

"Yes. I thought of taking your advice as something I need to do."

Penny's shoulders slump slightly, not enough she thinks for Sheldon, the guy who is so oblivious to other people's feelings, yet he does. His eyes narrowing at the minute action, trying to calculate why his friend is acting in such a strange, stranger for Penny, manner.

"Good for you, Sweetie."

"Yes, well…"

Sheldon pauses, his words stuttering in his throat as his nerves begin to build once more as the time for him to confess draws near. He glances down at his hands which are twisting together in his lap before releasing a long breath and forcing himself to meet Penny's inquisitive gaze once more.

"Penny. You have been a constant source of chaos in my strict regime for many years now and I have to say that, at first, I found your spontaneity, unpredictability and boisterous behaviour to be a undesired distraction. However, I can now confess that I have come to, not only rely on your seemingly unstructured way of life but enjoy your presence in my life. I have found myself planning around your instalment in my schedule, something I have not done for anyone before. Penny, I have found myself attempting to make sense and rationalise some strange feelings that I have never felt the need to dwell on before. All of which manifest solely in your presence."

Sheldon takes a deep breath feeling his cheeks and face heating up slowly as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes now focusing on the blanket just in front of his feet.

"Sweetie?"

Penny's voice stutters, her eyes tearing up and her breath catching in her chest as she stares at her neighbour, her best friend and wacky scientist. Her heart stuttering.

"I find myself wanting to spend more time with you, Penny. To touch you and talk to you all the time, I enjoy our Saturday night Laundry and our arguments. I didn't understand why I had an aversion to yours and Leonard's relationship, but it made me feel angry and sad. When you inevitably broke up, I was happy, but I didn't know why. I like it when you sing Soft Kitty to me and look after me when I am sick and when you drive me to work and the comic bookstore. So, I would like to propose a paradigm shift."

Sheldon finally lifts his gaze, only to stiffen in alarm when he spies the tears streaming down Penny's cheeks, one of her hands covering her mouth as she looks at him with wide shining eyes. He jerks backwards a little, unsure if he has said something wrong and whether he should apologise to her or not.

"What's this proposal, Sweetie?"

Clearing his throat, Sheldon slowly holds his hand out to his blonde neightbour, wiggling his fingers in invitation when she merely stares at his outstretched hand confused. She reaches her own hand out cautiously, her eyes flickering between the appendix and his bright blue eyes, slipping her hand into his, she is pleasantly surprised when he flips his hand around, interlacing their fingers together.

"I wish to propose a shift in our relationship. An establishment of a deeper relationship. I do not wish to remain just friends with you, Penny."

"Are you sure you understand what you are asking, Sheldon?"

"Of course, I do, Penny. I wish to enter into a romantic relationship with you. If that is what you also want?"

And Penny is stunned when he asks her about what she wants, not just demands or instructs her to be his girlfriend. Something she hadn't thought he was capable of. She squeezes his hand gently in her own, smiling a watery smile at him and he quickly returns the expression.

"I would love to be your girlfriend, Sweetie."

"Oh good."

Sheldon turns to glance up at the sky, the Leonid meteor shower still going on above their heads and he couldn't have thought of a more perfect moment than this. He gently lies down on top the blanket, tugging Penny down to lie beside him, their hands still intertwined as they simply enjoy each other's company as they settle into their new relationship.


	6. Cuddling in a Blanket Fort

A Collection of Shenny Oneshots

Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory, nor any recognisable characters or settings, the only thing I can lay claim to is the writing of these stories themselves.

Warnings: None in this chapter

Pairings: Sheldon and Penny

Word Count: 1,758

* * *

_Day 6: Cuddling in a blanket fort_

She was in bed at a reasonable time for once. Granted she wasn't asleep, merely snuggled up under her blankets with a warm mug of milk on her bedside table and a book all about the simplistic of autonomy and stargazing. So, when a knock sounded outside her apartment door at 1030 pm she was not pleased. Not hearing the repetitive knocks of Sheldon, her – she wasn't quite sure what he was to her at the moment. They had gone on that date to the roof to watch those meteor shower the other night and they had been spending a lot of time together recently; he even confessed to her, but did he think they were dating?

The knock sounded again, more desperately than before and with a deep sigh, Penny marks the page of her book, tucks it under her arm and climbs out of bed. She makes it too the door just as her mysterious visitor bangs once more on her front door.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming. There is not need to wake the entire building."

Making it too the door, Penny throws it open and sends her darkest glare to Leonard who cringes and takes a couple of steps backwards. He pushes his glasses up hiw nose, a nervous gesture she had come to recognise when they had been dating."

"What do you want Leonard?"

Penny sighs, bringing a hand up to rub her forehead tiredly.

"Ummm. Well, you see. Actually it's a funny story really uhhh… you're gonna thinks is funny. I mean he deserved it.. No, I mean…"

"Leonard you had better start explaining, otherwise I am gonna jump to the most likely conclusion and go Junior Rodeo on your skinny little ass."

Penny threatens, feeling sadistic glee build up when the blood drains from his face, sweat breaks out on his brow and he swallows deeply, looking more nervous with each passing second. He glances at her glare before flicking his gaze back towards his apartment and she narrows her eyes further, knowing that he, and the guys, had done something to Sheldon and needed her to deal with him once more.

"Leonard."

Her patience wearing thin, Penny takes an intimidating step forward. Her face flushed with anger and annoyance.

"Ah. Well, you see. He was being his usual self and we just wanted to go out to this new restruant down the road. We researched the health inspections and everything but he refused to come with us but also didn't want us to go…"

He trails off unsurely, glancing up at Penny before reverting his gaze back to the floor.

"What did you do?"

"It wasn't anything bad, we just wanted to see if he would loosen up a little, you know, not be so anal all the time but… it got a bit out of hand…"

"What did you guys do?"

Penny could feel her anxiety and anger rising with each word coming out of Leonard's mouth, fearing the worse or rather fearing that Leonard and their friends had done something which would not only disrupt Sheldon's carefully planned out schedule but also make him almost unbearable for the next few days.

"We may have spiked his diet coke with a little bit of Vodka… but-"

The blond doesn't even let him finishes; she rushes across the hallway and throws open the door to apartment 4A, only to pause in the doorway. Howard and Raj are clutching each other in terror, hiding behind the kitchen counter and staring at what Penny assumed to be a blanket fort, in the middle of the living room floor.

Creeping forward slowly, her movements draw Howard and Rajesh from their shock enough for their eyes to widen even further, their gazes flickering from herself to the fort and back again, their faces paling further and she knows that the man she is looking for has encased himself inside the mound of pillows, blankets and throws. She slowly makes her way towards the mound, before kneeling on the floor in front of what she assumed to be the entrance.

"He won't let you in… No one knows the secret password…"

Howard's voice travels across the room and Penny turns to look at him, her eyes narrowing in anger and disgust at the three men. She notices Howard walking to situate himself behind the counter next to his friends, a safe distance away from Sheldon. Turning back to the fort, Penny lifts her fist a little and knocks on the wooden floor just in front of the fort.

*Knock knock knock*

"Sheldon."

*Knock knock knock*

"Sheldon."

*Knock knock knock*

"Shedlon."

It takes a couple of seconds before a familiar head of sandy blond hair pokes itself from the curtained entrance, his blue eyes widening in surprise and a little delight when he spots who is sitting before his fortress. She returns his smile with a sunny one of her own.

"Hey Sweetie, you wanna come out of there?"

He shakes his head in negative and sends an impressive glare towards the three males on the other side of the room.

"No thank you."

"Alright, would you mind if I come in then? I want to talk to you Sweetie."

She can hear Howard and Raj snickering to one another at her question, but they soon shut up when Sheldon gives a sharp nod of his head and quickly shifts out of the doorway, leaving enough room for her to crawl through as he holds the blanket aside, only releasing it when she is safely inside.

Penny glances around the surprisingly spacious fortress, her eyes widening at the small candles laying around, all covered in glass cases so as to not start a fire, his glow in the dark fish were in another corner casting a lovely golden hue around the place. She finally settle her eyes on Sheldon a soft smile on her face when he is merely looking at her; his gaze affectionate as he brushes a strand of hair from her face.

"What's up, Sweetie? Leonard told me some of what happened."

"Leonard, Howard and Raj thought it would be funny to spike my beverage of diet coke without my consent with Vodka. I only took a sip before I knew that someone had tampered with my drink. They tried to argue that it was a social experiment. That the three of them wanted to know how different people are affected by alcohol, though I argued that it wasn't an experiment if they only had one test subject. One of whom had no idea about said experiment."

Penny reaches out to take hold of his hand, shifting slowly so that her knees are resting gently against his own, her thumb tracing a soft trail against the back of his knuckles.

"Why did they spike your drink, sweetie?"

She can feel her heart clenching in her chest when Sheldon's shoulder's slump, his hand gripping her tightly as he glances down at their knees.

"It is anything can happen Thursday."

Penny nods her head in understanding, knowing that the boys usually used that as an excuse to go out, get drunk and meet women equally, or more, drunk to sleep with. They usually liked to leave Sheldon at home.

"As per their usual ritual, Leonard, Howard and Raj thought to go 'hit the town' as the phrase goes and for some reason, they were insistent that I attend. Naturally, I refused to take part in such frivolous behaviour. I told them that I had no need to attempt to gain the attention of some stranger for the pleasure of coitus. Besides I had plans."

The blonde waitress smiles at her friend, a strange feeling bubbling up in her chest at the endearing look he gives her when he lifts his face, showing her his rare boyish smile.

"They spiked my drink in order for me to 'loosen up' and when I told them that I would not subject myself to the tomfoolery; that I did in fact have plans, unchangeable plans they became insistant about it. I constructed this fortress to keep them at bay before I told them something they have no need to know."

"Oh? And what would you have told them?"

"I wanted to tell them that I had a woman that I would rather not cheat on, someone I hold very dear to me and would never put myself in a situation where I found my defences lowered and vulnerable. That my girlfriend is a wonderful woman and deserves my devotion. That I had plans to spend time with her this evening."

Penny can feel her cheeks heating up when Sheldon leans forward to place a gentle kiss to her forehead, slowly drawing her into his chest when he sees the large smile on her face and the tears streaming down her face. He shakes his head at how emotional Penny could be but is still pleased that he could make her so happy. Feeling her arms wrapping around him response, Sheldon withdraws one arm to reach behind himself.

After letting her lean against him until she managed to get a hold of her emotions, Sheldon slowly and carefully pushes her backwards, his hand still hiding behind his back, shuffling into a more comfortable position, Sheldon reveals a beautiful bouquet of flowers, their pale pinks and whites blending together. Penny can feel her breath catching in her throat as she takes the flowers.

"What do they mean?"

He voice is quiet, awe-filled, her eyes shining with affection and happiness as she smells the flowers in her hands, her gaze never leaving Sheldon's flushed face.

"The Amaryllis are given to a person the giver finds attractive, beautiful but to show that they look beyond their beauty, that they admire their personality. The White Camellia means adoration to the recipient."

"Oh Sheldon, they are so beautiful. Thank you so much."

"You are welcome, my Penny Blossom."

They spend the rest of the evening cuddling together; their arms wrapped tightly around each other as they bask in the soft glow of the goldfish and candle light having completely forgotten about the three men still waiting in the kitchen for the pair to come out.


End file.
